“I just don’t have the time.” As college and work slowly begin to engulf every waking moment of our lives as college students, the value of time becomes more and more priceless. To keep up with college and work, I’ve had to sacrifice the things I enjoy most such as going on hikes and taking photos or going to the gym, because “I just don’t have the time.” And yet just like the rest of the world, I find myself dumping multiple hours per day into my phone, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. According to a study conducted by Statista, 57% of people stated that they spend on average 5 or more hours on their phones daily which is frightening. As my free time becomes smaller and smaller, I would give anything to have an extra 5-6 hours per day to focus on myself and the things that I truly enjoy but I find my attention constantly gravitated towards my phone. Therefore, my app idea is primarily focused on cutting back screen time and making users more aware of where their time is going.
To combat the issue with excessive phone usage and addiction, my app will not only focus on making users more conscious of how much time they are spending on their phones, but also allow the user to limit the amount of time allowed on their phone and within specific apps.
The first step to attacking our phone addictions is to become truly aware of how much precious time we are actually wasting on our phones. To do this, the app will have a section dedicated to statistics showing exactly how much time you spent on your phone and what apps you have been using the most. The app will also send friendly notifications each hour of screen time the user has surpassed, keeping the user updated with their usage as well as giving cool, little facts of what things could be accomplished within the time they have spent on their phone to motivate them to get off. For example, a notification could read, “Hey John! You have spent a total of 2 hours on your phone today, which is the average time it takes to install brakes and rotors all around, on a car!”
Once the user becomes more aware of where their time is exactly going within their phone, they can set many different timers to help them achieve less screen time. They can set specific timers for any app they would like that will automatically lock the app once the specified time is hit. They can also set a timer that locks their phone after a certain consumption threshold is reached and that will lock the phone during specific times of the day, like before bedtime. If need be, bypass buttons will be implemented within apps that are locked in case of emergencies as well. But notifications will be cut off for apps that are currently locked so the user does not feel inclined to bypass the lock or go on their phone.
The idea of our favorite apps now being self-limited is quite daunting, especially when some apps are our main source of connection and communication in today’s world. To make the gradual switch towards reducing screen-on time easier, the app will also have a tailored dashboard which will act as a main hub for all the users quick, immediate information that they may need or desire from their other apps. For example, it can be connected to your calendar app and display what events you have for today or it can also be linked to the news and give you important news updates, all in one hub so you aren’t spending all that time jumping from app to app to get all the information you find important.
I think within today’s world, most people point fingers at young children and teenagers for prime examples of phone addiction but I truly believe that no matter the age, the majority of people have an addiction with their phones to some extent but don’t truly realize it. The idea of my app is to not only stop the over consumption of phone apps but also to make EVERYBODY aware of exactly where their time goes while they are on their phone whether they think they are addicted or not. I think my app would initially gravitate and be heavily supported by the older generation, specifically parents, to control the times their children can spend on certain apps and devices. But I don’t want my app to be tailored to or supported by a certain demographic; I want to see it being used and supported by every single person that uses a phone because to me there is nothing more important than time and I think most people can resonate with that idea. Therefore, I think this app would be widely supported by all demographics because of the versatility of the app. At its most simplistic use, it is a very concise app that will tell the user exactly how much time they spend on their phone and where they are putting it. At its most, it is an app that will directly help the user battle their addiction with their phone and act as a central hub for all things inherently important within a smartphone.
Luckily, building an app results in relatively low costs to initially create. Aside from the extensive amount of time it would take to code the app, it does not require a whole lot of hardware or man power to complete. In terms of consumer cost, the app will be free to them to reach as wide of an audience as it can and in return they will receive a tool that will give them that time in the day to do the things that are truly important to them; and focus on themselves and not their phone.
(This was the same app idea I used within task two but it was an idea I was so passionate on, I wanted to take the chance to expand upon it within this assignment.)
Grade : 93
INNOVATIVE DESIGN– Your idea makes me wonder if the digitally literate (like this class and tech CEOs) may be the ones who actually reflect on and control their app usage–which would make sense since they see how it works, but it’s also ironic eh? So yeah, this app makes sense for anyone trying to break habits and just get a real sense of how much time they are actually giving to software instead of their hobbies and interests. Your personal intro helps me understand the real stakes for you and so also for others.
UPGRADED CRITERIA–love this: “Hey John! You have spent a total of 2 hours on your phone today, which is the average time it takes to install brakes and rotors all around, on a car!” My students a UPenn installed a Moose on my first mac that would flash in the scree with opposite message “Get back to work” if I left my computer for more than 30 min. It was a joke but really annoying! And it showed me that I valued my time NOT working and just socializing with hall mates. So digital feedback works. personalizing it is smart.
SUPPORTIVE CONTEXT–getting a critical mass of students on one campus to use this could actually trigger a movement. once one area starts and it gets into news, it could go viral…this could be a great NMD 445 project!
WEIGH COSTS yeah the costs are programming. But programmers also need to eat–so lets pay then fairly for their skills/time. eh? You could have an innovative pay scale like, first 30 days free, then you pay just %.month, then you stop paying once you re-set your habits enough, and then just pay it forward with one final $%/ to help the next person with their free 30 days…so it’s a kind of freemium.pay-it-forward thing…get creative…
VISUALS–good start; nice featured image